Happy New Year! It’s with great pleasure that we announce the winners of the HowtoSaveMoney.com Yakezie Writing Contest. We received thirteen essays from America and one from Singapore for a chance to win a contest pool of $1,000. Originally, we had only planned on awarding $500 to one winner. However, thanks to the generosity of 38 other donors besides Chris and myself, we were able to raise much more and therefore open up the contest to three winners. To see how we decide how much to give away and to how many applicants every month, please see here.

The three winners wrote essays that captured the attention of the audience and never looked back. They were very personal and highly memorable. All three applicants are in high school and look to further their education by going to college. With the proceeds from the Yakezie Writing Contest, they will be employing the funds accordingly. Make us proud!

Announcing the winners of the HowToSaveMoney.Com Yakezie Writing Contest

The 4th and 5th place finishers received 274 and 234 votes, respectively. The 14th place finisher received 134 votes. For those of you who did not win, you are welcome to enter again until you do. For those who’ve won, you are free to enter again after two more Writing Contest rounds are complete. Please tell your classmates about this opportunity, give them some guidance, and share with them your winning essay!

We want to let you know that all of you are winners for entering. So much of life is just showing up and trying because so many people do not. We’re sure your teachers and parents are proud of you, and you can now say you got published on the largest personal finance and lifestyle network on the web! College admissions officers also love that you’ve put yourself out there and made an effort. If you would like mentoring, or need advice on anything personal finance or life related, please feel free to either e-mail us or ask in the Yakezie Public Forums. We are more than happy to help!

Please e-mail us either your Paypal address or physical mailing address so we can send you the Scholarship proceeds. We are at theyakezie AT gmail DOT com.

Tips for future applicants:

* Do submit early and provide all pertinent detail, including a picture of yourself. Please write a short bio about yourself and what makes you tick at the end of your essay submission. The more the reader gets to know you, the better.

* Encourage your friends and family to visit the competition and vote. To be fair, please have them vote for all participants. Part of success is how well you market yourself. This is an important skill you will need in college and in the work force. Others inevitably will market themselves, so you might as well too. The Yakezie Members have a 3X vote weighting and will also vote to ensure fair play. At the end, we will tally up the non-Member votes vs. the Member votes and see if there are any inconsistencies. With hundreds of people voting, generally the discrepancies should be minimal and the best written essays that connect with readers should receive the most votes.

* Tell us a story. The best essays are those that capture the imagination of the reader and allows us to feel what you are going through. Make us want to root for you!

* Think about a unique title that is pertinent to your essay. Also try and think about what your other applicants will be writing about and perhaps do something different. This is called leveling, another useful skill to learn.

* Do check for punctuation and grammar. Ask your friends, parents, or teachers to read your essay and provide suggestions. Often times we are blind by what we write and cannot see obvious errors without the help of others.

* Applicants should feel free to interact with reader comments once their posts are live. It shows that you are listening and are a part of the community. The Yakezie is all about community interaction. Notice how all three winners responded back to comments. The more you respond to readers, the higher the likelihood they will warm to you.

* Follow us @Yakezie on Twitter because we do highlight multiple updates throughout the competition that you may want to be aware of.

* For bloggers who feel particularly strongly about of set of applicants, please feel free to highlight their posts on your site like Kevin did here on Investing It Wisely entitled, “My Favorite Yakezie Essays” .

ANNOUNCING THE SECOND YAKEZIE WRITING CONTEST QUESTIONS

We realize many of you are away for the holidays, however we at Yakezie have a goal of hosting at least six contests in 2011 and reward at least 18 winners. The following four questions are there for you to address in any way you wish. You do not have to address every sub-question . They are there to help craft your compelling essay. Please utilize the tips we’ve shared above.

* Tell us about a world event that had a profound impact on you. What changed in you for the better? What changed in you for the worse? Why couldn’t you realize the better changes before the event happened? Why did an event have to happen in order for you to see the world a little differently?

* If you won a $20 million dollar lottery, who would be the first person you’d call? Would you call anybody? Describe in detail what you would do with the money. How long do you think your happiness from winning the lottery will last? Why do you think so many wealthy athletes and other famous figures go broke?

* Do you believe in second chances or even third chances? Please explain why. Is there an extent to how bad an act you do before there are no more second chances? Tell us about a second chance you got or did not get. What have you changed about yourself to make you a better person?

* What are the attributes that makes someone a success? What does success mean to you? Describe a time where you thought you were successful, but in reality, it turned into a failure. What were the lessons learned? Do we really need to focus on success to be happy? Can we be happy without being successful?

Length: 700-1000 words.

Target demographic: College students who are paying for the majority of their tuition out of their own pocket, through loans, or with scholarships. High school students or below who are looking for money to pay for college or buy school related items.

Number of finalists to be published: Up to 10 to be published if there are up to 20 applicants. If there are more than 20 applicants, we will publish the best 30 and run a concurrent contest and Member Article schedule on Yakezie.com for the month.

Deadline for submission: Saturday, January 22th at 6pm EST.

We will be launching the submission page by Friday, January 7th if not sooner. Thanks again to all applicants, donors, voters, and those who supported the Yakezie Writing Contest with their Tweets and blogs! Special thanks to Alan Dunn for being our main sponsor whose site teaches us how to save money and invest for a better future. Any interested sponsors, please feel free to e-mail us.

You can submit for the second Yakezie Writing Contest here. Due date is January 22, 2011.

Thanks again!

Sam, Chris, & The Yakezie Writing Contest Committee

Looking to learn how to start your own profitable website? Check out my step-by-step guide on how to start a blog. It’s one of the best things I did in 2009 to help earn extra money and break free from Corporate America!

Financial Samurai is the founder of the Yakezie Network. Through continuing education and hard work, Sam believes everyone is able to achieve financial independence and give back to the community with abundance. Together we'll slice through money's mysteries!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much! I have a lot of goals and dreams that I will accomplish. But we all need help and this scholarship is an essential contribution for my future! Do not forget my name Adan Gonzalez in a couple of years I will be the Governor of Texas. :)

Wow, I thought I was the only person working online and following things on New Years eve! I just published this article just 15 minutes ago! How did you get notice so quick? Are you subscribed to our RSS feed?

You’re welcome Adan, and good job! It was great that you interacted with the readers and Members who commented on your post. It sure seems like you have a supportive network of friends and family which is wonderful. Make them proud and don’t ever give up when things feel down. Keep on fighting for what you believe in, forever!

If you know of anybody else in your network who you feel will benefit, please let them know about January’s opportunity and future opportunities. You and your friends are our future, and it’s looking like a bright one at that!

What a wonderful way to start the New Year! Thank you everyone who took the time to read my essay, and thank you Sam, Chris and the Yakezie Scholarship Committee for giving me this opportunity to help pay for some of my college expenses. I start college in the Fall and this scholarship money will be extremely helpful. Thanks again and I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!

Congrats Kaitlyn! College will be a whirlwind with some incredible times of happiness and some moments of disappointment. Freshman year is particularly tempting to just go nuts, so be careful. Take your time in finding out what really interests you. You’ll be surprised at what’s out there. Once you find that something special, everything from your motivation to grades to your HAPPINESS will follow suit.

We’d loved for you to check back in with us and share your journey. You are a part of our family now!

I was really impressed with all the essays. It was great to see so many positive teens out there. Congratulations to all the winners, and all the people that submitted essays. I hope you all continue on your quest for scholarships and furthering your education.

Cool! Congrats winners! I’m so happy that the first scholarship was so successful. And I love your questions for the next one!! I’m really looking forward to the next round of essays. I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year. It’s hard to believe it’s 1/1/11!! Everyday is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present. Happy New Year!!!!!

Nice! I wouldn’t mind, but I haven’t played in ages so you’ll probably beat me (though HU is pretty random). A blogger game could be fun. I used to play often online but at micro stakes, and our poker games when we used to have them more often were for $5 or at most $10 buyins, and some people were uncomfortable with even that. It’s definitely another world out there in SF!

Uncomfortable with $10-$20 buy-in? Oh man, maybe we are in a different world.

I’m uncomfortable with $1,000 buy-ins at home/personal games. 2-3 of the 10 guys always buy in for that much. Every week there is someone losing or winning at least $500, and every other week there is someone winning or losing $1,000.

At $500, it’s fine. I’m there to have fun and listen to the fantastic stories of Silicon Valley.

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by David Leonhardt, Darwin's Money and others. Darwin's Money said: congrats! “@Yakezie: Announcing the winners of the first #Yakezie Scholarship and the next set of questions! http://t.co/ClF3lKV #education […]

[…] Network includes some of the top personal finance blogs around! The winners of the first ever Yakezie Scholarship were announced! The total scholarship pool was $1,000, so hopefully, this will be a blessing to the […]

I’m going to try to enter into this scholarship.
Now a new member, I don’t exactly understand how other members vote for your essay and how to market the essay. Does the essay gain its own page and then people comment on it?

This is an amazing opportunity and help to students who are trying to get their education. The life sometimes does not treat some people well and People like Sam, Chris, & The Yakezie Scholarship Committee can help to realize and make education goals better.
I just found out about this scholarship and I want to share with my story.
Thank you,
MALIKA MILIYEVA

I just wanted to thank the Yakezie Scholarship Committee for such a great opportunity. Coming from someone who has spent so many years oppressed and victimized it’s wonderful to have projects like this one that are available so that people like myself can turn themselves around. Without chances like this one many students would miss out on the future they deserve.

Try try and try again. Thats me I have gone off the path for miles and miles its time to turn back around. Thank you Yakezie Scolarship committee for such creativeness in helping others. I hope to go back to college next semester, maybe this is the opportunity that will get me there

Hello!
I tried to submit my essay today at 10 AM this morning (Pacific time) thinking that I had time because the website page said that the deadline was Jan. 22, 2011 6PM EST which means that I can send it anytime before 3 PM my time. However when I went to submit it the page said that sorry it is closed that the deadline was 8:30 AM Pacific time! Can someone please explain to me what is going on… I worked very hard on my essay and I want to have a chance to submit it!
Thank you
Vanessa

[…] see the original post here for the complete rules. Also, we encourage you to check out the three winning essays from the first scholarship as good examples. The Yakezie Scholarship Committee plans to choose […]

[…] I’d like to get as many people as possible to participate and help make a difference in our Yakezie Scholars. Our program is unique due to the transparency and the level of involvement we have in choosing […]

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